conversations with my son

I save up all the ways Joel “mistreats” me and trot them out at family gatherings. “You see what I have to put up with?”

One day Carlin asked me if we could talk about something important. She gingerly broached the topic about how good Joel is to me and that he needs to know I appreciate him, which I do.

So I went to Joel and very seriously broached the subject with him. “I really do appreciate your being here,” I told him. “And if I have let you doubt it, I apologize and will do whatever it takes to let you know that.”He listened thoughtfully and said, “Will you let me bring in my Tween Deluxe amp?”

Do you see how what I have to put up with?

Fourth of July

Cameron and Elise let me come up on their deck to watch the fireworks last night. This morning when I was doing my prayer list, I realized that I didn’t have them on it.

I mentioned that to Joel, and he said, “Well, you better put them on there, because if they get snatched up, you’ll feel guilty."

I said, “They are so sweet that if they get snatched up, I’ll assume they got raptured. Anybody else, I’d think they got kidnapped.”